music: moods + influences + similar artists, oh my
December 6, 2006 by Cash
Familiarity breeds contempt.
-Mark Twain
I’ll admit it. I’ve got a bit of musical ADD.
Even with almost 40 straight days’ worth of music in my library, I often find myself bored and looking for something new.
In addition to relying heavily on Radio 1190 for some musical direction, there are two other sites that have proven invaluable in my search.
All Music Guide has been providing an amazingly powerful resource for discovering artists similar to those you already love for 15 years.
In addition to pointing out similar artists (in the case of my girl Goldfrapp, pictured above: Portishead, Blackbox Recorder, Bjork as well as 4 I’ve yet to check out) it also features a list of artists that have influenced the band in question.
Another interesting feature? The “moods” section, which is entirely user feedback driven and tries to convey the overall ‘vibe’ of an artist.
In the case of Goldfrapp, this includes “spooky”, “elegant” and “ethereal”. Spot on in my none too humble estimation.
Once you’ve got some leads, head over to Pandora.
Pandora is an internet radio station that lets you input a band, around which it will create a free streaming radio station featuring that group and others like it.
Viva la discovery!
Cash is an Urban Monarch contributor who recently attended a commitment ceremony with his iPod shuffle
Technorati Tags: new music, internet radio, pirate music, downloading music, mp3’s, electronic music, music recommendations, music reviews
I need ooh la la la la…
Cash, if that’s the genre you’re looking for, give Massive Attack, Hooverphonic and Tricky a try. Also, Mogwai is incredible.
Chris - great suggestions all, and I’m happy to report I have do have Massive Attack and Hooverphonic in my library!
Mogwai is one of those bands I’m trying to get into.
I saw them open for the Cure in Atlanta and Denver and was intrigued.. a fantastic ex of mine was a huge fan and tried to turn me onto them.
The one thing I can say they are PERFECT for is listening to while perusing the art museum. Relaxing…
Hey, thanks for the comment. Not a lot of people do that at my blog… :/
Anyway I suggest Last.fm over Pandora, any day. Here’s my profile there at least. DM = best band ever and Goldfrapp I’m slowly getting into.
music guide…
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